Book reviews: new non-fiction from Garance Doré, Mike Albo and Greg Gutfeld
Doré’s work looks like a book but is more of a blog in covers, Albo could have been more amusing if he focused less on himself, and Gutfeld wants to teach the world the merits of compassionate conservatism
by Garance Doré
Spiegel & Grau (e-book)
She may be a style beacon and there’s no denying her fashion illustrations and photography are fab, but Love x Style x Life is a mystery. A book-like object rather than a true tome, it contains Garance Doré’s musings on beauty (French, in particular) and lifestyle in blog-form writing that feels like one long caption after another. Some of it is charming, some amusing, but reading this is the equivalent of an evening spent eating molecular gastronomy foams. To be fair, if you’re in the mood, it can be entertaining to gaze at pictures of women looking effortlessly beautiful (Doré’s specialty). It might even be helpful to learn that dark lipstick isn’t always great for photos and to mentally tick off all her wardrobe must-haves – the classics on which to build anew every season – including the pencil skirt, white T-shirt and the Lulu by Saint Laurent Paris bag. But then you read her chapter on turning 40 and realise that no 40-year-old is going to have the time to consume literary bubbles. That said, fans, of whom there are many, will probably not feel cheated. Her take on Parisians and New Yorkers is quite funny.
by Mike Albo